New to Water Cooling - Need Help with Gaming PC

[Curlyp]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am reaching out to the community here for some assistance with liquid cooled systems. I am not new to building computers, however, when it comes to liquid cooled systems, I am a novice. I have been conducting a lot of research over the last several weeks, mainly on Distilled water with a Silver Coil/and or PTNuke vs. Pre-mixed coolant. Each has their pros and cons, which were argued very well. As being new to the liquid coolant world, I am still undecided with which cooling solution I should use.

 

The main points that have been argued are:

Distilled Water with Silver Coil/PTNuke

Pros:

• No conductivity, but over time does become conductive
  
• More efficient in cooling than pre-mixed solution by 1-5 degrees
  
• Silver Coil/PTNuke is an antimicrobial and helps against growth of algae
  
• Cheap
  

 

Cons:

• Does not help prevent corrosion
  

 

 

Pre-mixed Solution

Pros:

• Helps protect against corrosion and growth of algae
  

 

 

Cons:

• Runs 1-5 degrees hotter than Distilled Water
  
• High chance to clog blocks
  
• Ability to cause corrosion if using mixed metals
  
• More expensive
  

 

 

It seems like a “no-brainer” to go with Distilled Water and Silver Coil/PTNuke. My only concern is my blocks are not protected against corrosion.

 

I called Koolance to get their opinion on Distilled Water and Silver Coil/PTNuke; since my CPU, GPU, and RAM blocks are Koolance. Surprisingly, the gentleman confirmed the pros and cons for both, but has the concern about the potential corrosion with Distilled Water. In addition, to his concern with corrosion, he said that all brands of distilled water is different, so depending on which brand you buy the results will vary.

 

He suggested the Koolance LIQ-702 Liquid Coolant Bottle, High-Performance, 700mL (Colorless), not because he works for Koolance, but because of the corrosion prevention additive, and the fact that they make their own distilled water in house (due to all other distilled water being different). He also pointed out that a lot of companies manufacture pre-mixed coolant, but do not conduct tests for the longevity of the system, which in turn gives companies that make a good quality coolant (and the hardware) a bad name.

 

On a side note, I read somewhere that using Prestone Anitfreeze Coolant for you car is viable for PC cooling. I am not sure that I would want antifreeze in PC!

 

I am open to all comments and suggestions that any of you may have to help assist me. If I happened to provide incorrect information above, please let me know. Below is my build, as it may help decide which coolant I should use:

 

General Parts:

Case: Mountain Mods Extended Ascension

Motherboard: EVGA Z77 FTW

Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5 GHz

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (PC3 12800)

HDD: 2 x Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC

1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1 TB SATA

Media Drive: Samsung 22X DVD Burner

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690

Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 1000W Individually-Sleeved Modular Gaming 80Plus Gold Power Supply

Case Fan: 25 x CoolerMaster Fan R4-L2R-20AR-R1 120mm Sickle Flow 2000rpm LED Red BlackCurrent

 

Water Cooling Items:

1 x Koolance CPU-370SI Intel Liquid Cooling CPU Block - (No Fittings)

1 x Koolance VID-NX690 GeForce VGA Liquid Cooling Block (No Fittings)

1 x Koolance RAM-33 Water Block (No Fittings)

1 x Koolance RP-452X2 Dual 5.25" Reservoir Rev 2.0 (Serial or Parallel) w/ Dual Alphacool VPP655 Variable Speed Pump Installed

2 x Black Ice GTX Xtreme 360 Radiator – Black

14 x XSPC G1/4" Thread 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Low Profile Compression Fitting

2 x Enzotech G1/4" Thread 90-Degree Rotary 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Compression Fitting

3 x Sliding 180-Degree U Connector (Memory)

2 x Nozzle Single, Swivel/Lock Barb for ID 10mm (3/8in) (Memory)

2 x PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT 10ft Tubing 1/2"ID 3/4"OD with 1/8" Wall

1 x ArctiClean 1 & 2 (Thermal Material Remover and Surface Purifier) - 60ml Kit

1 x Danger Den Premium Tube Cutter - Designed For 3/4" OD

 

I am going to run a two-loop system. One loop for RAM and CPU. Second loop for GPU. I am still deciding on how to run the first loop.

 

Pump/Reservoir -----> RAM -----> CPU -----> RAD -----> Pump/Reservoir

The reason for this design is the RAM heat is going to be very minimal, so carrying it to the CPU should not effect it.

 

Pump/Reservoir -----> CPU -----> RAM -----> RAD -----> Pump/Reservoir

The reason for this design is the water is the coldest coming from the pump, so cooling the CPU would be beneficial (since Ivy Bridges run hotter than Sandy Bridge), but not sure if I want to transfer the heat to the RAM.

 

Below are two pictures of my case. The radiators will mount vertically (not horizontal) in the front, due to the space available. One will be on the left, the second one on the right, and three CoolerMaster Fan R4-L2R-20AR-R1 120mm Sickle Flow 2000rpm LED Red BlackCurrent in the middle. The front and back of the case will be the intake for air, and the top will be the exhaust (since heat rises).

 

 

Any thoughts for my loop design?

 

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance with my build.

[Waco]

You can bypass corrosion concerns by using all-copper blocks with no plating (though I haven't heard anything bad about Koolance's Nickel plating).

 

As long as your flow rate is good enough the order of components matters extremely little. My variance in-loop under full load was well under a single degree C even with a hot CPU and four GPUs heating up the water all in a row.

 

 

Personally I'll never run anything but straight distilled and a silver coil. My system has been that way for well over a year now with no problems at all (and I've torn it down multiple times for upgrades and to inspect things).

[Tjj226_Angel]

I agree waco for your situation. Your case is meant to be filled with so many rads that you won't see any color in the fluid. I would use clear tubing and straight distilled water. Your setup is intended for overclocking, and with that much money sunk into a WC loop you definitely want to chase after every single degree you possibly can.

[Curlyp]

Thanks for the advice. I will double check on the radiators to see if they are nickel platted or copper.

 

If for some reason my metals are different, is there any additives that I can add to prevent the possibility of corrosion?

 

Also, now that I ask thinking about it, I may return the ram blocks and accessories, since I don't plan on overclocking it. That would save me an extra $179.00 I was only going to cool it for the looks. What do you think?

[Waco]

I think watercooling RAM is pointless.

 

As for your radiators - they are probably copper and brass. They'll be fine with straight distilled.

 

You can add a 10% mix of antifreeze to your system if you're really worried about corrosion.

[VaporX]

Personally I would go with the premade formula. The guy that told you different distilled waters vary is correct, different methods of distillation yielf different results and many so called distillsed waters are not. While you might lose a few degrees centigrade by going this route the lose is really not a big deal considering the temps you will achieve should be prelty low to begin with. I would lose the few degrees to make sure of the long term usage.

[Waco]

Unless he bus shoddily plated parts any distilled water is fine IMO.

[Curlyp]

I looked on the manufactures website and in the features it has 'Custom MaxFin™ 25 micron Copper Splitter Fin'.

 

The Koolance CPU water block is Nickel-Plated Copper, Stainless Steel, POM Acetal, EPDM. Although, I wonder if I should have went with CPU-370 Water Block, Rev1.1 over the current one I bought CPU-370SI Water Block since it claims to have an optimized flow path minimize coolant restriction.

 

The Koolance GPU water block is Nickel-Plated Copper, Nickel-Plated Brass, Stainless Steel, POM Acetal, EPDM.

 

Since all three products have copper in them, then I should be fine using distilled water?

 

Tjj226_Angel had recommend that I use clear tubing to watch the water for any color changes. I bought and have red tubing to go with my red theme. I wonder if it would be in my best interest to return it and get clear tubing. Or does not it make a difference?

[Boinker]

One suggestion i will put in is rather then the ram why not cool the motherboard chipset?? Or why not both??? If you do decide to go for the chipset then grab plenty of extra 90' and 45' fittings to make things as simple as possible.

 

Stay away from enzotech for the fittings. I have used them and thrown them in the trash in the same day. Alphacool and bitzpower make very good ones in 90 and 45' flavors.

 

The sickle flow fans are not bad. I would grab some scythe gentle typhoons

 

 

Other then that is the build looks pretty solid.

 

Defiantly stay away from premixd coolant. Best case go with locally purchased distilled water And either ptnuke or a kill coil. Then add some dye they you like. I prefer the fewer view stuff as it doesn't have any ill consequences compared to some liquid dye solutions. I would suggest one blue pod and one green. Nvidia and Intel right. Lol.

[Curlyp]

One suggestion i will put in is rather then the ram why not cool the motherboard chipset?? Or why not both??? If you do decide to go for the chipset then grab plenty of extra 90' and 45' fittings to make things as simple as possible.

 

Stay away from enzotech for the fittings. I have used them and thrown them in the trash in the same day. Alphacool and bitzpower make very good ones in 90 and 45' flavors.

 

The sickle flow fans are not bad. I would grab some scythe gentle typhoons

 

 

Other then that is the build looks pretty solid.

 

Defiantly stay away from premixd coolant. Best case go with locally purchased distilled water And either ptnuke or a kill coil. Then add some dye they you like. I prefer the fewer view stuff as it doesn't have any ill consequences compared to some liquid dye solutions. I would suggest one blue pod and one green. Nvidia and Intel right. Lol.

 

Thanks for your input boinker. I have not thought about cooling the motherboard chipset. However, I looked into it, and as of right now, there is not a company (from that I researched) that makes a motherboard chipset for the EVGA Z77FTW, as the board is still new. Is there any big advantage to water cooling the motherboard chipset?

 

I compared the Scythe Gentle Typhoons to the Cool Master SickleFlow, and the CM SF seem to out perform it.

 

Cool Master SickleFlow

120 mm - 2000 rpm: 0.35A - 19 dBA - 69.69 CFM

 

Scythe Gentle Typhoon

120 mm - 1,850 rpm: 0.083 A - 28 dBA - 98 m³/h - 57 CFM

 

Unless, the Scythe Gentle Typhoons have higher static pressure, then they would definitely out perform the CM SF on the radiators.

[Stonerboy779]

Hell if a lot more advantage cooling mobo chipset and vrms than you will ever see for water cooled ram.

 

There will be blocks soon enough because the ftw is intended for overclocking

 

Edit: those sickleflow fans are stupidly loud never trust cm for it's noise. The gt also have large static pressure good for rads as well as good noise. Considering your case amount of rads push pull and so on u would consider the slower, quieter gt fans.

[Tjj226_Angel]

But guys you forget 1 crucial fact about water cooling ram......... it looks cool.

 

I agree with stonerboy though. If you were to use the money, it would be much wiser spent on cooling your mobo.

 

By the way.... please tell me you assembled all the parts and pushed your CPU to 4.8 Ghz on a good air cooler before you went down this crazy water cooling path? It would have been a waste for all this WC stuff if your chip doesn't OC very well.